News - Announcements

September 2009

Science Needs Ethics (28.9.2009)
This week, the gaze of the international medical research community is fixed on Baltimore, as leading scientists have gathered here for the World Stem Cell Summit. This is both an opportunity to showcase the great talent found in Maryland's research institutions and also an occasion to invite some of the world's greatest minds to re-commit themselves to research that is ethically sound.

Poland backs chemical castration (25.9.2009)
Parliament has toughened sanctions against all sorts of sexual offences
Polish MPs have passed legislation making it obligatory to chemically castrate certain sex offenders.

First-Time Surgery: Artificial Heart, Stem Cells Used to Save Dying Man (24.9.2009)
Surgeons have for the first time used a combination of an artificial heart and stem cells to save the life of a dying man.

New technique could help children needing bone marrow transplant (21.9.2009)
Children who need bone marrow transplants, such as those with genetic immune system disorders, could benefit from a new technique that reduces the need for chemotherapy. The new technique uses antibodies rather than chemotherapy to clear a patient's own bone marrow prior to transplant of donor marrow. Doctors from Great Ormond Street Hospital and UCL's Institute of Child Health reported their findings in The Lancet last week.

IVF couples must undergo police checks under new Australian law (19.9.2009)
New legislation introduced by the Victorian government in Australia, which requires all prospective IVF patients to have criminal background checks to ensure they have no previous history of violent or sexual crimes, has outraged patients and clinicians alike.

Premature Baby 'Left to Die' by Doctors After Mother Gives Birth Just Two Days Before 22-week Care Limit (9.9.2009)
A young mother's premature baby died in her arms after doctors refused to help because it was born just before 22-week cut-off point for treatment.

Tighter Controls Needed On 'Stem Cell Tourism' Say European And Chinese Experts (6.9.2009)
Vulnerable patients who travel abroad for unproven and potentially unsafe stem cell treatments need to be better protected says a report published by a team of expert researchers from Europe and China today.

Medicare and 'End-of-Life' Planning (6.9.2009)
A pioneer in end-of-life planning, Gundersen Lutheran Hospital urged Congress to have Medicare compensate physicians for consulting with patients on end-of-life planning. The provision, inserted into the health-care reform bill, sparked a firestorm of worries about "death panels" and "rationing" care for the elderly.